Gold Falls Almost 2% on Strong Jobs Report

The metal settled below $1,300 per ounce

A positive report on U.S. hiring renewed investor fears that the Federal Reserve could begin tapering its monthly bond-buying, sending gold down sharply in Friday trading. The metal posted a 2.2% decline for the week.

The Labor Department announced that the economy generated 204,000 non-farm jobs in October and revised the number of jobs created in August and September upward by 60,000. That surprised economists who had expected the lengthy government shutdown to weaken hiring. Most economists were looking for about 120,000 new jobs last month. The Fed has signaled that it will not reduce stimulus until it sees sustained recovery in the U.S. jobs market.

Gold futures for December delivery dropped 1.8% to $1,284.60 per ounce on Friday, according to CME Group. Gold traded as high as $1,313.40 and as low as $1,280.50. Bullion closed in London at $1,291, according to BullionVault.

Silver futures for December slid 1.6% to $21.32 per ounce. Friday’s high for silver was $21.91, while the low was $21.25.